The School Board meeting last night was an entertaining one and definitely worth watching if you missed it. The video checked in at a hefty 2 hours and 42 minutes. Check it out at http://media.hawthorn73.org/board_meeting_042213.m4v

First of all, this website commends those in the community who showed up to voice their opinion on this current predicament we face. There was no shortage of passion or opinion on both sides of the fence when it came to school choice. We realize that these decisions are not easy by any means. The problems are complex. The potential solutions are varied. Solving these problems requires conversation, planning, and discussions commensurate with the importance and complexity of that decision.

After observing the discussions in the meeting last night, it is the opinion of this website that the Board isn’t appropriately prepared to make such a decision in the two weeks they have been given. Listening to the conversations, it became obvious that making a recommendation to remove choice is clearly premature. Kudos to Board Member Jayson Tran, who appropriately suggested that before we remove choice, we first need to have a deeper discussion (involving the voice of the community) on whether or not that decision makes sense.

It was also interesting to watch the difference of opinions among the Board Members. At one point, in making the case for change, one Board Member referred to an online survey that was up for less than two weeks (which most of the community was unaware of) and stated that upon reading every comment submitted that “Overwhelmingly, the majority of parents going (sic) to neighborhood schools”. This comment struck us as odd given the clear dissension between many in the community and the current recommendation. To draw a conclusion like that seemed quite incongruent.

So where did we end up after several hours of discussion? The Board agreed with moving pre-K out of Aspen to accommodate the potential impact of offering the choice to move there. As to the second recommendation, the official wording was as follows:

“The Board approves the formation of committees with the goal of evaluating reorganization of the elementary schools. These committees will have a target report date of December 2013.”

So there you have it. More work to be done and more decisions to be made. In listening to the commentary from the Board Members on the process, it became clear that the influence of the community changed the recommendation made by the Board. Anyone who observed this meeting should realize that regardless of the future outcome, the process worked. The community wasn’t ready to get behind a decision. The Board quickly realized this. And as a result, a more thorough study in the coming months will be conducted.

It is also important to note the upcoming decisions will be carried forth by three new incoming Board Members. This website thanks the three outgoing Board Members for their service and welcomes the new members to the process.

In the words of one concerned parent…”let’s look before we leap”. And in the words of outgoing Board President Tim Shanahan…”Democracy is alive and well”. This website agrees with both of those opinions.

The beat goes on…